Safeguarding Hawai'i's Native Plants

Hawai'i's isolation and unique ecosystems have fostered the evolution of the highest percentage of endemic (occuring naturally only in Hawai'i) plant and animal species in the world. Many of these species are threatened by the harmful effects of development and competition from non-native species.

Over the past several years, attorneys in Earthjustice's Honolulu office have compelled the US Fish and Wildlife Service to add more than 200 native Hawaiian plants to the endangered species list, leading to the protection of more than 400,000 acres of critical plant habitat.